Sir Jagaddipendra Narayan Bhup Bahadur, (15 December 1915 – 11 April 1970) was

Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great Monarch, king" or "high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Em ...

Cooch-Behar Cooch Behar (), or Koch Bihar, is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Cooch Behar district. It is in the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas at . Cooch Behar is the only planned city in ...

, in India. He served in British forces during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and ceded full ruling powers to the Government of India in 1949.

Early life

He was born at

Cooch Behar Palace Cooch Behar Palace, is a landmark in Cooch Behar city, West Bengal. It was designed after the Italian Renaissance style of architecture and was built in 1887, during the reign of Maharaja Nripendra Narayan of Koch dynasty. It is currently a m ...

as the eldest son of Maharaja

Jitendra Narayan Maharaja Shri Sir Jitendra Narayan Bhup Bahadur (20 December 1886 – 20 December 1922) was the Maharaja of Cooch-Behar, India, from September 1913 until his death in December 1922. Early life Jitendra Narayan was the second son of Nripendr ...

Bhup Bahadur, the Maharaja of Cooch-Behar, by his wife, Maharani Indira Devi Sahiba. He was informally known as 'Bhaiya' and was the brother of

Gayatri Devi Gayatri Devi (born as Princess Gayatri Devi of Cooch Behar; 23 May 1919 − 29 July 2009) was the third Maharani consort of Jaipur from 1940 to 1949 through her marriage to Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II. Following her husband's signature for t ...

. He was educated at St Cyprian's School,

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the l ...

Harrow Harrow may refer to: Places * Harrow, Victoria, Australia * Harrow, Ontario, Canada * The Harrow, County Wexford, a village in Ireland * London Borough of Harrow, England ** Harrow, London, a town in London ** Harrow (UK Parliament constituency) ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, and also at the Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College,

Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislativ ...

. He became the Maharaja of Cooch Behar at the age of seven on the death of his father on 20 December 1922 and ascended the ''gadi'', on 24 December 1922. He reigned under the Regency of his mother until he came of age and was invested with full ruling powers on 6 April 1936. His close relatives stayed in Jaipur, Baroda, Dewas, Kota, Allahabad and Calcutta.

Personal life

His first marriage took place privately at Cooch-Behar, 1949 to Nancy Valentine of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, who was a former screen actress. A daughter was born but did not survive and the couple separated in 1952. His second marriage took place privately in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1956 to Georgina May Egan, . The marriage was made public in 1960, and his wife was recognised as Maharani together with the style of

Her Highness Highness (abbreviation HH, oral address Your Highness) is a formal style used to address (in second person) or refer to (in third person) certain members of a reigning or formerly reigning dynasty. It is typically used with a possessive adj ...

in January 1960. Maharani Gina Narayan settled in Spain after 1980. She died there in 2013.

Military career

He served with the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

in World War II in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in t ...

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

, and

South East Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

. He was present at the time of the Japanese surrender at

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

in 1945. He was Chief Commandant Cooch-Behar Military forces from 1943 to 1949, and Colonel-in-Chief 1st Cooch-Behar Infantry and Rajendra Hazari Guards, Jaipur State Forces.

Political career

He was a Member of the Standing Committee of the

Chamber of Princes The Chamber of Princes (''Narendra Mandal'') was an institution established in 1920 by a royal proclamation of King-Emperor George V to provide a forum in which the rulers of the princely states of India could voice their needs and aspirations ...

(''Narendra Mandal''). He signed the instrument of accession to the

Dominion of India The Dominion of India, officially the Union of India,* Quote: “The first collective use (of the word "dominion") occurred at the Colonial Conference (April to May 1907) when the title was conferred upon Canada and Australia. New Zealand and N ...

in August 1947 and ceded full ruling powers to the

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

on 12 September 1949, overseeing the merger of his state with

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the four ...

on 1 January 1950. He died in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comm ...

and was succeeded by his nephew, Virajendra Narayan, whom he adopted as a son.

Cricket

He captained the Bengal Cricket XI.

Titles

* 1915–1922:

Maharajkumar Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire ...

Sri Jagatdipendra Narayan * 1922–1939:

His Highness Highness (abbreviation HH, oral address Your Highness) is a formal style used to address (in second person) or refer to (in third person) certain members of a reigning or formerly reigning dynasty. It is typically used with a possessive adjecti ...

Sri Sri

Jagatdipendra Narayan Bhup Bahadur,

Cooch Behar Cooch Behar (), or Koch Bihar, is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Cooch Behar district. It is in the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas at . Cooch Behar is the only planned city in t ...

* 1939–1942:

2nd Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until 1 ...

His Highness Sri Sri

Jagatdipendra Narayan Bhup Bahadur, Maharaja of Cooch Behar * 1942–1944:

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

His Highness Sri Sri

Jagatdipendra Narayan Bhup Bahadur, Maharaja of Cooch Behar * 1944–1945:

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

His Highness Sri Sri

Jagatdipendra Narayan Bhup Bahadur, Maharaja of Cooch Behar * 1945–1946: Major His Highness Sri Sri

Jagatdipendra Narayan Bhup Bahadur, Maharaja of Cooch Behar * 1946–1947:

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

His Highness Sri Sri

Jagatdipendra Narayan Bhup Bahadur, Maharaja of Cooch Behar * 1947–1970:

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

His Highness Sri Sri Maharaja

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only a ...

Jagatdipendra Narayan Bhup Bahadur, Maharaja of Cooch Behar, KCIE

Honours

(ribbon bar, as it would look today, incomplete) Order of the Indian Empire Ribbon

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal The King George V Silver Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the accession of King George V. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir by King George V to commemorate his Silver J ...

– 1935 *

King George VI Coronation Medal The King George VI Coronation Medal was a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir of King George VI's coronation. It was awarded to th ...

– 1937 *

1939–1945 Star The 1939–1945 Star is a military campaign medal instituted by the United Kingdom on 8 July 1943 for award to British and Commonwealth forces for service in the Second World War. Two clasps were instituted to be worn on the medal ribbon, Batt ...

– 1945 *

Burma Star The Burma Star is a military campaign medal, instituted by the United Kingdom in May 1945 for award to British and Commonwealth forces who served in the Burma Campaign from 1941 to 1945, during the Second World War. One clasp, Pacific, was ...

– 1945 *

Africa Star The Africa Star is a military campaign medal, instituted by the United Kingdom on 8 July 1943 for award to British and Commonwealth forces who served in North Africa between 10 June 1940 and 12 May 1943 during the Second World War. Three clasp ...

– 1945 *

Pacific Star The Pacific Star is a military campaign medal instituted by the United Kingdom in May 1945 for award to British and Commonwealth forces who served in the Pacific Campaign from 1941 to 1945, during the Second World War. One clasp, Burma, was ...

– 1945 *

War Medal 1939–1945 The War Medal 1939–1945 is a campaign medal which was instituted by the United Kingdom on 16 August 1945, for award to citizens of the British Commonwealth who had served full-time in the Armed Forces or the Merchant Navy for at least 28 days ...

– 1945 *

India Service Medal The India Service Medal 1939–1945 was a campaign medal of the Commonwealth. It was awarded to Indian Forces for three years of non-operational service in India during the Second World War. Eligibility The medal was instituted on 6 June 1946 ...

– 1945 *

Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander ( GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) No app ...

(KCIE) – 1947 *

Indian Independence Medal The Indian Independence Medal was instituted by the Dominion of India and approved by King George VI by way of a Royal Warrant dated 21 July 1948. It was a commemorative medal for service with the Indian armed forces at the time of independence ...

– 1947 * Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal – 1953

References

External links

History Book of Cooch Behar

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Narayan, Jagaddipendra 1915 births 1970 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Bengal cricketers Hindu monarchs Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Maharajas of Koch Bihar People educated at Harrow School People educated at St Cyprian's School Indian knights Indian cricketers Cricketers from West Bengal People from Cooch Behar district

Early life

Personal life

Military career

Political career

Cricket

Titles

Honours

See also

References

External links